Renewal

2008 marked the sixth year I have taken the entire month of July off for what I call my annual "sabbatical." For 31 days, I do not respond to email or answer my phone and limit my social interactions to my nuclear family. This notion is shocking to most when I first mention it. The first question is always, "where will you go?" And my response is always, "I will stay at home." The next response is invariably, "I wish I could do that!"

This reminds me of the first time the concept of time off like this was brought to my attention, nearly 20 years ago. Herb Kindler, a consultant resource to the firm I was working for, shared with me that he and his wife, a psychologist, took every fourth week off. This seemed both outrageous and intriguing, and I obviously filed the thought away and retrieved it when the time was right for me.

I started my own business, and rewarded myself after seven years by creating time for myself that was different in every way from my regular existence: nothing scheduled, no obligations, minimal social interactions, and with the very specific objective of working on my crafting projects without having to stop. I set some rules for myself about what I CANNOT do: respond to email, "work," clean out files or closets.

It is nothing less than intoxicating to wake up in the morning, get out of bed when I am ready and have complete freedom to do whatever I feel like doing. Even though I have a beautiful, zen-like loft-office in my home, I set up sabbatical work-space two floors down in a light-filled room with a view of the canyon: lush green leaves and hummingbirds.

Truth be told, it takes practice to relax when I've been trained to be productive every minute. Note that my rule mentions "responding" to e-mail; given the prospect of wading through 31 days of email upon my return, I do read and purge my email daily. The good news is that by now my clients know about my ritual, and they respect my boundaries. This year I hardly heard from any of them.

The other discovery I made, much to my chagrin, is that the artistic impulses didn't just start on command. There were many days when I would sit staring at my art supplies and nothing would flow for me. Sad. But it underscored the need for me to work my right-brain more into my daily routine throughout the rest of the year. And I am seeing a payoff! but more about that below.

A year ago, in January 2008, I returned to work after two weeks off for Christmas and New Year, and decided that I would try to take four weeks off this year: in other words, add a winter sabbatical. Now that I am halfway through, I know that this is the right thing for me to have decided. I have been enjoying a creative surge like I have not experienced for years and years - this is the "payoff.

I'm going to go play with my Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water soluble color wax pastels...